Sowell jurors to deliberate through weekend if necessary

CLEVELAND -- Jurors deliberating the fate of an accused serial killer will work through the weekend if necessary. They began their work Wednesday afternoon.

There are 83 criminal charges and hundreds of specifications to consider in the case of Anthony Sowell. Closing arguments concluded at 4 p.m. Wednesday and the jury got in about two hours of deliberation then.

They resumed at 8:06 a.m. Thursday, and were scheduled to take a lunch break at 12:30 p.m. Judge Dick Ambrose had scheduled jurors to work through 6 p.m. each day, but they may choose to continue their work past that hour if they want.

While the jury is making its decisions, Ambrose was conducting other court business. The Sowell trial had consumed the bulk of his court's time for more than two months.

Cuyahoga County Court Administrator Greg Popovich said Thursday that jurors would deliberate on Saturday and Sunday if a verdict is not reached by Friday evening.

Among those in the jury room is an alternate juror, who replaced one of the regular jurors who became ill during closing arguments on Wednesday.

The three remaining alternates are also being sequestered until all the verdicts are reached.